David Rovics: Khader Adnan, Bobby Sands

Khader Adnan grew up near Jenin CityYou could say he was a product of his timeEver since he was a kid he'd get arrestedThough he was never charged with any crimeSpending half his life in prisonA life lived like so many of his friendsArbitrary and indefinite detentionNever knowing if your jail time would endKhader Adnan was arrested last DecemberAgain he wasn't told the reason whyHe was shackled, he was beaten, he was torturedThere beneath the Middle Eastern skyPerhaps there was a moment when he realizedThat right then, with his body, he'd say noBut from then on he refused to eat another mealLike in Belfast not many years ago

Khader Adnan grew up in a war zoneBut all the tanks and planes were only on one sideIt was a type of war that they call occupationSettlement, removal, fratricideAnd anyone who talked about resistanceWho thought they did not deserve to be a slaveWould be looking down the barrel of a gunAnd often find themselves inside an early graveKhader Adnan loves his wife and daughtersAnd he likes to eat his daily breadBut in prison he can't see his childrenOr live life with the lady that he wedSo on behalf of all the children without fathersHe decided he had to strike a blowHe said I will have dignity or deathLike in Belfast not many years ago

Each time Khader Adnan was arrestedIn prison he would learn a little moreAnd soon he became the teacherAnd he'd talk about the times that came beforeThey talked about civil disobedienceThey talked about the ballot and the gunThey talked about the Occupied Six CountiesAnd the H Blocks in 1981Khader Adnan talked of perseveranceAnd how someday their people might be freeHow someday they might hear their children laughingUnafraid, how someday things could beAnd then at 3:30 on one morningThe soldiers came, their rifles pointed lowAnd they took Khader Adnan from his familyLike in Belfast not many years ago

They say Khader Adnan is a terroristJust like they said of Bobby SandsBecause he dares speak out against injusticeBecause he dares to make a standBecause he dares believe that he is human And he does not deserve to live this wayBecause he dares to consider an alternativeBecause he dares imagine a new dayKhader Adnan lost his liberty before he was bornTo fight for life it's death he must embraceBut just like others come before himThere are others waiting to take his placeAnd even the great powers can lose interestIn supporting such a vicious status quoBecause you can't break a man who won't be brokenLike in Belfast not many years ago